U.S. patent number 4,897,873 [Application Number 07/267,156] was granted by the patent office on 1990-01-30 for multipurpose hinge apparatus for foldable telephones.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Motorola, Inc.. Invention is credited to James H. Barber, Scott D. Beutler.
United States Patent |
4,897,873 |
Beutler , et al. |
January 30, 1990 |
Multipurpose hinge apparatus for foldable telephones
Abstract
A multipurpose hinge apparatus for a foldable telephone includes
a flip element and a hookswitch. The flip element is held in the
closed and open positions by an enclosed cam element which follows
recesses in one shaft securing the hinge elements. The hookswitch
is activated by another enclosed cam which follows a recess in a
second shaft.
Inventors: |
Beutler; Scott D. (Hoffman
Estates, IL), Barber; James H. (Palatine, IL) |
Assignee: |
Motorola, Inc. (Schaumburg,
IL)
|
Family
ID: |
23017564 |
Appl.
No.: |
07/267,156 |
Filed: |
November 4, 1988 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
379/433.13;
379/433.06; 16/325; 403/96; 16/292; 403/93 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M
1/0216 (20130101); E05D 11/1064 (20130101); E05Y
2900/606 (20130101); H01H 3/162 (20130101); Y10T
403/32361 (20150115); Y10T 403/32336 (20150115); Y10T
16/540243 (20150115); Y10T 16/53838 (20150115) |
Current International
Class: |
H04M
1/02 (20060101); E05D 11/10 (20060101); E05D
11/00 (20060101); H01H 3/16 (20060101); H04R
001/03 (); E05D 011/10 (); F16C 011/06 () |
Field of
Search: |
;379/433 ;403/95,96,93
;16/227,297,304,292,321,325,333,334,344 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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|
|
|
|
|
208031 |
|
Mar 1960 |
|
AT |
|
1406689 |
|
Jun 1965 |
|
FR |
|
59-135959 |
|
Apr 1984 |
|
JP |
|
103061 |
|
Dec 1963 |
|
NO |
|
976404 |
|
Nov 1964 |
|
GB |
|
999912 |
|
Jul 1965 |
|
GB |
|
Other References
Realistic Owner's Manual: Duofone ET-415 Cordless Electronic
Telephone; Cat. No. 43-555; 1984. .
Panasonic KX-T3000 Easa-Phone Cordlessphone FCC Transmitter Type
Acceptance Filing-Exhibits D,E,F, and H of type acceptance No.
ACJ96NKX-T3000..
|
Primary Examiner: Ng; Jin F.
Assistant Examiner: Byrd; Danita R.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Jenski; Raymond A. Hackbart;
Rolland R.
Claims
We claim:
1. A hinge apparatus for a foldable telephone apparatus having a
body portion and a flip element portion, the hinge apparatus
capable of maintaining the flip element portion in at least two
positions of rotation relative to the body portion, a first
position being parallel to a front surface plane of the body
portion and a second position being at an obtuse angle to the front
surface plane of the body portion, the hinge apparatus
comprising:
a first cylindrical hinge shaft rotatably coupling the flip element
portion to the body portion;
first and second recesses disposed in the wall of said first
cylindrical hinge shaft, said first and second recesses having
essentially planar bottom surfaces, the plane of said essentially
planar bottom surface of said first recess intersecting the plane
of said essentially planar bottom surface of said second recess an
acute angle; and
a first cam disposed within said flip element portion and having at
least one flat surface which contacts said essentially planar
bottom surface of said first recess when the flip element portion
is in the first position and which contacts the essentially planar
bottom surface of said second recess when the flip element portion
is in the second position.
2. A hinge apparatus in accordance with claim 1 further comprising
a second cylindrical hinge shaft further coupling the flip element
portion to the body portion and having a recess in the side wall of
said second cylindrical shaft.
3. A hinge apparatus in accordance with claim 2 further comprising
a second cam disposed within said flip element portion and having a
surface which contacts said recess in the side wall of said second
cylindrical shaft.
4. A hinge apparatus in accordance with claim 3 further comprising
a hook switch coupled to said second cam.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to hinged housings for miniature
electronic equipment and more particularly to portable
radiotelephones which utilize hinged housings for folding
elements.
Telephones utilizing two housing elements, connected with some type
of hinging mechanism, are common in wireline telephone sets and
have become more common in landline wireless extension phones. This
folding arrangement allows for the telephone to be more compact
when the two housings are folded upon themselves.
Radiotelephones which utilize this type of design typically have
most of the electronics within the larger of the two housings. The
smaller housing, which will be called the flip element hereinafter,
normally contains the microphone and ringing element. Because the
microphone and ringing element must make electrical connection to
the electronics within the body of the radiotelephone, a means of
connection through the hinge area is needed. For good acoustical
performance, the flip element must be held in an optimum position
relative to the body. In so doing, the microphone is positioned a
desired distance from the user's mouth.
This hinging design may have the capability of producing an on-hook
condition when the flip element is in the "closed" position and an
off-hook condition when the flip element is "opened" to its
extended position. A radiotelephone which employed the position of
the flip element for control purposes was described in U.S. Pat.
No. 4,845,772. Additionally, some cordless telephones which offer
the hinged flip element design have been offered in the United
States. One such cordless phone is manufactured by Radio Shack as
Duofone model no. ET-415. For the Duofone ET-415, two shafts with
cored centers connect the flip element to the main housing or body.
The wires are dressed from inside the flip element, through the
shaft centers, and into the body. The flip element is held in the
open or closed position by two spring loaded fingers which press on
the flip element and into depressions on the flip element exterior.
The off-hook and on-hook switching is performed by a raised section
on the external surface of the flip element which depresses a lever
of a switch in the Duofone body when the flip element is closed
upon the body. However, by performing the detenting and switching
functions external to the housings, the possibility exists that
small foreign objects can jam the spring loaded fingers to prevent
the switching or detenting operation. Furthermore, the fingers
could also be broken which would prevent proper operation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a
moveable joint to connecting the flip element to the main
housing.
It is another object of the invention to provide a mechanism which
holds the flip element in either a position covering the keypad
(on-hook) or in a position exposing the keypad (off-hook).
It is another object of the present invention to produce an on-hook
condition when the flip element is closed and an off-hook condition
when the flip element is opened.
It is a further object of the invention to allow for electrical
connection between the microphone and ringing element within the
flip element and the body containing the majority of the electrical
components.
Accordingly, these and other objects are realized in the present
invention which encompasses a portable radiotelephone having a main
housing and an attached movable flip element as described
herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an isometric drawing of a portable radiotelephone which
may employ the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view of the radiotelephone where the flip element
is nearing the closed position.
FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the front housing and the flip
element illustrating the components which are contained within the
flip element.
FIG. 4 is a cut-away side view of the hookswitch mechanism which
may be employed in the radiotelephone of FIG. 1.
FIGS. 5A and 5B are cut-away side views of the detent mechanism
where the flip element is shown in both the open and closed
position.
FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the hinge mechanism of the present
invention.
FIG. 7 shows the means of connecting the wires from the hookswitch,
ringing element and microphone to the body.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A portable radiotelephone adapted to be used in a cellular
radiotelephone system is shown in FIG. 1. This portable unit
consists basically of two readily apparent portions, a body portion
102 and a flip element portion 104. The drawing of FIG. 1 shows the
flip element in an "open" position such that a user of the portable
unit may listen via earpiece 106 and may speak into the microphone
107. The dial or keypad 110 consists of a plurality of buttons
numbered one through zero, #, and *, in a familiar telephone
arrangement. The keypad 110 also may have additional function
buttons such as "send", "end", "on/off", and other buttons
associated with memory recall.
When the flip element 104 is open as shown in FIG. 1, the portable
cellular telephone can be in the state of answering or making a
telephone call. Such a state is commonly known as "off-hook". Upon
completion of the telephone call, the user may hang-up the portable
telephone by moving the flip element into a closed position. This
hanging-up may be accomplished by causing the flip element 104 to
rotate about the axis of hinges 112 and 114 so that the flip
element 104 rests against the keypad 110. This action activates a
"hookswitch" which causes the telephone call to be terminated. The
closing of the flip element 104 can best be perceived in FIG.
2.
The hookswitch in the preferred embodiment is located within the
flip element 104 and may be seen in FIG. 3. Activation of the
hookswitch occurs in the preferred embodiment when the angle
between the body 102 and the flip element 104 equals approximately
45.degree. . A conventional pushbutton switch 302 is placed in
position within the flip element 104 behind front housing 304. As
the flip element 104 rotates about the axis of hinges 112 and 114,
a switch actuator 308, which is placed in the hinge knuckle 306,
rides on the surface of the hinge shaft 310. The hinge shaft forces
the switch actuator 308 to push the button of the switch 302 as the
flip element 104 rotates from the on-hook position to the offhook
position.
FIG. 4 is a side view of the details that allow the hookswitch to
function. It may be perceived that as the flip element 104 rotates
in the direction shown, the switch actuator 308 moves in a
direction such that the switch button 402 becomes depressed thereby
signaling an off-hook condition. When the switch pushbutton 402 is
not pressed, the state of the radiotelephone is on-hook. By having
the switch 302 and switch actuator 308 contained within the hinge
knuckle 306, accidental activation of the switch, or jamming or
breaking of the switch actuator is prevented.
In the preferred embodiment, the flip element 104 is held in the
open or closed position by a combination of elements shown in FIG.
3. A detent cam 314 is placed within the hinge knuckle 318 and
forced against the hinge shaft 316 by a spring 312. The design of
the hinge shaft 316 allows the flip element 104 to be held at an
obtuse (for example .theta.=150.degree. )from the on-hook or closed
position.
A more detailed view of the detent cam mechanism can be seen in
FIGS. 5A and 5B. FIG. 5A illustrates the position of recesses 502
and 504 when the flip element is in the closed, on-hook, position.
FIG. 5B illustrates the position of the recesses when the flip
element is in the open, off-hook, position. When opening the flip
element, the cam detent 314 moves out of a recess 504 in hinge
shaft 316 and onto the full diameter surface of the shaft 316. The
spring 312, placed between a wall 506 and the detent cam,
constantly forces the detent cam 314 against the shaft 316. As the
flip element continues to rotate to the open or off-hook condition,
the detent cam 314 continues to push against the shaft and then
force itself into the recess 502. The force of the detent cam 314
in the recess 502 holds the flip element 104 in the desired
position. It should be noted that recesses 502 and 504 have planar
bottom surfaces which enable the cam 314 to contact the bottom and
side surfaces and act as a detent. The imaginary planes formed by
the bottom surfaces of the recesses intersect in an acute angle,
.phi., which is related to the angle of flip element 104 opening
.theta.. In the preferred embodiment, the two angles, .phi. and
.theta., sum to approximately 180.degree. when the flip element 104
is in the open position as shown in FIG. 5B. The side surfaces of
each recess further act to restrain the cam when in the detent
position and are angled with respect to the plane of the bottom
surface. The design of the shaft 316 allows the flip element 104 to
open or close without further user assistance when it is within
45.degree. of either position. The flip element also has the
ability to overtravel the open position by an amount such as
30.degree. , if forced, and return to the open position
automatically when the force is removed. The possibility of
breaking or jamming the positioning mechanism is removed by having
the entire mechanism contained within the flip element.
In the preferred embodiment, the housing of the body 102 is
assembled from two parts shown in FIG. 3 as rear housing 602 and
front housing 604. The flip element 104 is connected to the body by
the hinge shafts 310 and 316 mentioned above. When the rear housing
602 of the body 102 and the front housing 604 of the body are
snapped together, the ribs 606 and 608 nest within the hinges 112
and 114. The slots 610 and 612 align themselves concentrically with
blind holes cored into the outer walls of the hinges 112 and 114.
The shafts 310 and 316 push through the holes in their respective
hinge knuckles 306 and 318, through the holes in the ribs 606 and
608, and into the slots cored into the outer walls of the hinges
112 and 114 which prevent the shafts from rotating. A cut-away view
can be seen in FIG. 6. A clip is then placed within the center
knuckle 702 to prevent the shafts 310 and 316 from sliding out. In
the preferred embodiment, the shafts may only be removed when the
flip element is in the closed position.
Electrical connection is made from the microphone 320, ringing
element 322 and the hookswitch 302 via wires which pass through the
hinge knuckle 306 through a slot 802 in the hinge shaft 310 and
into the main housing. The routing of the wires can be seen in FIG.
7.
In summary, a multipurpose hinge mechanism for a folding portable
radiotelephone has been shown and described. This novel apparatus
fixes the problem of accidental hookswitch actuation or breaking or
jamming of the detenting mechanism in a portable radiotelephone.
The hookswitch and detent mechanism are protected from abuse or
misuse by having them internal to the flip element. The hookswitch
is activated by movement of a switch actuator when the flip element
rotates about the shafts. The cam detent holds the flip element in
position by being forced into a recess in the shaft.
Also, the hookswitch, microphone and ringing element are connected
to the body's electrical components via wire which pass through the
hinge knuckle, through a slot in the shaft and then into the
body.
* * * * *